The Swedish watchmaker TIDLÖS® is releasing a limited edition of its Marin model with a dial made of the Swedish meteorite from Muonionalusta. Five unique copies of the watch will be released, and not only do they all feature a meteorite dial, but they will also be making an actual journey into space in collaboration with the Swedish space company Esrange, in connection with the launch of Suborbital Express 4 in the fall of 2023. Upon their return, one of the watches will be auctioned off together with the esteemed auction house Phillips.
“This is an amazing project”, Henry Salmela, founder and owner of TIDLÖS®, says. “Not only is it great to be able to make a watch with a dial made of a meteorite from Norrbotten County – but actually getting it back into space again after such a long time is truly incredible.”
The meteorite used for the dials is the meteorite that was discovered in the Swedish town of Muonionalusta in 1906, believed to have been in the ground for about 800,000 years. TIDLÖS® is one of the few manufacturers that have been able to use the unique material for their dials. They chose to use it for their robust Marin diver’s watch.
“Connecting diving with space may be a bit odd, but we don’t actually find it all that far-fetched”, Henry continues. “Our Marin model is a robust and durable watch built to be used at deep depths. So, we know it can handle real diving. Now we’ll have proof that it can handle going in the opposite direction as well. Getting it up into space and subjecting it to the stresses found there is a way for us to prove the high quality of our products. The result is a watch that can handle both ocean depths and space.”
The watches will accompany the unmanned rocket Suborbital Express 4-M16. This is all being done within the scope of the Swedish Space Program, and the rocket will launch from Esrange outside the town of Jukkasjärvi. The plan was initially for the watches to be sent up into space this year, but the pandemic and an extensive fire at Esrange, among other things, caused the scheduled launch to be postponed to the fall of 2023. Upon returning to Earth, one of the watches will be auctioned off in collaboration with Phillips Auction House.
“The auction will be the icing on the cake, Henry says. Phillips is one of the world’s leading auction houses for watches, and our watch will not only be included in the catalog but also go on tour and be displayed at Phillips branches in Hong Kong, New York, London, and finally Geneva. For us, as a small manufacturer, this is obviously a huge deal, and we’re extremely pleased that Phillips liked the idea and is doing this with us.”
The remaining watches will be sold to highly select customers upon request. But Henry reveals that they’ve already received offers from interested parties, located not only in Sweden.
“Yes, it’s true that we’ve already received offers for almost all watches. Which is wonderful, of course. But I think we will wait until the project has been completed in 2023 before making any of them available to the public.”
Until the big launch, the watches will be exhibited at a few carefully selected TIDLÖS® retailers and displayed in connection with various events.
